


Five Moments in the Park

by Zaniida



Series: Five Moments of Intimacy [5]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Acts of Kindness, Double Drabble, FMI, FMNI, Five Moments of Intimacy, Gen, Homelessness, Intimacy, Intimacy with Strangers, Non-Sexual Intimacy, charity - Freeform, drabble chapters, elbows-friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-06-26 07:25:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15658527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaniida/pseuds/Zaniida
Summary: The early-series cast, each connecting with a homeless person in a different way, however slight the contact or lasting the relationship.





	1. Help with Grooming/Hygiene (Carter)

**Author's Note:**

> I've got several FMI fics that my brain is flitting around, and I figured I might as well start uploading the parts I've got. Expect more in the upcoming days/weeks.
> 
> This one's just, I wanted some charitable activity that the POI crew could individually get involved with in some fashion, and this is what spun out. Especially since the homeless are already incorporated elements in the POI canon (see "Risk").

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the military, and then later as a cop and as a detective, Carter has seen humanity at its worst, both as perpetrators and as victims. She's long past judging people for conditions obviously outside their control.

“Do we have anything larger than triple-X?” Carter asks; they point her at a pile of trash bags on the park bench, donated items that didn’t make it onto the racks. She discards the garish circus-tent mumu -- it’s the wrong shape, and overkill -- and picks out her best guess.

“Not a lot of options,” she tells the woman when she returns.

“There never are,” the woman replies. “But it’s something, at least.”

The handicap stall (tarps and PVC) gives them privacy as Carter helps the woman struggle out of her stretched-out t-shirt and malformed denim shorts. No underwear, and the donated packs aren’t nearly big enough. With Carter’s assistance, she manages to get into a pair of spandex tights -- the only feasible option, given her lipedema. Shirts are much easier; they find two t-shirts that fit her, and then a stretchy turtleneck that works fine after Carter slices open the front of the neckpiece.

The old clothes get set to the side -- for the dumpster, after the woman’s gone. Carter imagines that they haven’t been off her body since she got them; maybe they got washed when the woman showered. The smell doesn’t bother Carter; she’s been around far worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I briefly stopped to look up homelessness in New York around 2012-13, then realized that the research was going to take up way too much time for tonight. I did get the impression, though, that it had gotten a lot better than a few years earlier, and that it would thereafter get worse, as legislative measures started causing problems. (It's likely that my quick skim has misinformed me.) If anyone knows some more concrete details and can express them to me succinctly, I might consider weaving them in.
> 
> Also, this was around the year that the [Lava Mae](https://lavamae.org/) buses started operation -- on the whole other side of the country, unfortunately nowhere near New York. So when it mentions showers in the second chapter, it'll be some sort of portable type, like those hand-wash booths at fairs or the milk-jug-on-a-stick that we used to use in Girl Scouts.
> 
> The homeless having access to showers (and general [hygiene supplies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABch4VYOJZ0)) is a big thing, though, and I'm thrilled that the Lava Mae program seems to be going strong; I hope they can branch out more.


	2. Acceptance of a Vulnerable State (Finch)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time since he's had to exercise the kind of patience you need to deal with a person whose memory is failing. Even so, Harold's well practiced in the art.

“I’m probably rambling again,” Emil observes, pausing in his tale of a high school crush. “You can stop me, if I’m rambling.”

A smile crosses Harold’s face; Emil reminds him very much of his dad. “I don’t mind listening to you.”

“We have to wait, for your friend,” the old man haltingly confirms. Harold nods; it’s only the fifth time he’s asked. Dementia. Emil never even realized that he’d been in danger.

The threat’s been dealt with, and Harold’s already set up better living arrangements, gotten in touch with a more competent agency; they’re just waiting on John.

It’s peaceful here, even as Emil continues to trail out random thoughts; the hedges cut down on the sound of traffic. Most of the activity is on the far side of the park, a fair for the homeless sprawled out across half the grass. Shower stalls and free toiletries. Job referrals. Game booths for the kids; a musician on one side, Pixar movies on the other. Volunteers cutting hair, passing out clothes, food, gas cards.

Harold needs this break, though. This reminder. As bad as things get, they’re not in this fight alone; others, too, want to raise lights against the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My mom sometimes talks about a relative -- maybe her grandfather? -- who had Parkinson's, and whose ability to communicate was slow and halting and frustrating. She was pretty much the only family member who would willingly wait for him to speak, instead of rushing him or talking over him or assuming that she understood before he was finished. I like to think that her patience was a comfort to him.
> 
> When my mom's mom was in her final years, she needed help even in the bathroom. My dad spent a lot of time living with her and helping her out. There were people who criticized him without even knowing him -- "Why is he helping her? she's not _his_ mother!" and "Why isn't [my mom] helping her instead?" -- but I was never more proud of my dad than knowing he was willing to do that for her.


	3. A Peaceful Moment in Nature (Reese)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shared silence can be more powerful and intimate than any exchange of words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here is what a koto sounds like](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWUWCddcQTY). You might let it play while reading this chapter ^_^
> 
> Also, this is kind of a palate cleanser, as we get a little further into the depths of _Unseen Things_. Or maybe it's more of a comfort blanket.

Even knowing that he ought to hurry back to Harold, John can’t help but sit beside Joan a while, the delicate sound of the koto washing over him as the sun plays across the water. The adrenaline from the case is working its way out of his system, and the unexpected delight of seeing his friend -- hair freshly washed and cut, a new scarf about her shoulders -- has gone a long way toward getting him centered again after a very trying week.

They don’t feel the need to speak, today. Just to relax next to each other, watching kids run around the edge of the lake. The air’s a perfect neutral temperature, vacillating between the warmth of the sun and the slight breeze; it breathes in clear, with just a hint of pollen.

Soon enough, John will be helping Harold relocate the day’s number, an old man who’d unwittingly offended his law-skirting landlord; for some reason, Harold had gone above and beyond in hunting down a better location for the man to live out his days. After that, they’ll get dinner, and sleep, and tomorrow there’ll be another case.

This afternoon, though, John’s just going to enjoy a short break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I "grew up on" Japanese language and culture during my college years, I acquired an appreciation for anime theme songs, but also for some specific instruments, including the koto (which I hope to someday own) and the taiko and odaiko: giant drums that reverberate through your whole body -- it's the one medium I know of where [recorded](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv9CKhFMD5Y) [performances](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBFVZGpPY7Y) can't [come close](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZDbUAE9vzo) to a [live show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPi8s63btjE) (bring ear plugs), and _man_ do those performers need to be in good shape!
> 
> For a look at the nuances of traditional Japanese music, see [this video essay](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bZ19hnr8vc); I found it quite interesting.


End file.
